Alone.
Dannel watched Derrick lead Osian away. Bugger.
Bugger.
The sirens grew closer. Dannel searched for the emergency communication app on his phone. On days when his mind decided spoken words were impossible, he found typing things helped immensely. And the pre-written explanation at the beginning tended to keep everyone else from being confused.
“Sir? Sir. Have you been injured?” A constable approached him cautiously with his partner behind him. “Can we help?”
Dannel tapped the app open on his phone, holding it out toward the police officers who found him sitting on a brick wall in the garden. The young constable didn’t seem to know what to make of him.
Please contact a police officer named Roland Ortea.
Or Detective Inspector Haider Khan.
“Danny?” Roland raced over to him. He’d obviously already been on the way, having shown up moments after the constables. “Are you okay? Were you hurt? Are you in a no-touch mood?”
He typed out Osian’s name on his phone and held the screen out toward his brother.
“Detective Inspector Khan looped me into his chat with Osian. They’ve tracked him via his phone and now on CCTV. They’re a few minutes behind the vehicle. He’s going to be fine.” Roland checked him all over with his hand hovering above Dannel’s shoulder. “Were you hurt? You absolutely daft bastard. What were you thinking?”
“Rude git.” Dannel was pleased to find two words in his wordless haze.
“You scared me half to death. Be glad Mum’s not aware of this little disaster. Heard the call over the radio about some kind of armed hostage situation. And then they mentioned your name.” Roland folded his arms across his chest and glared at Dannel. He sighed deeply after a minute of silence. “Why don’t I give you a lift home?”
“Ossie,” Dannel insisted.
“You need time to decompress. I’ll stay with you and take you to wherever Osian is once you’re capable of more than one-word answers.” Roland had a point despite Dannel wanting to argue.
He didn’t have the words to debate with his baby brother.
Sometimes, brain, you’re a right pain in the arse.
After a heated text conversation on his mobile, they found a compromise. Roland allowed him to stretch out on the back seat of his vehicle. Dannel popped in his noise-cancelling earbuds and cued up one of his Broadway playlists.
He put Hamilton on repeat and tried to get as comfortable as he could in the back of Roland’s car. His brother tossed a blanket to him. It was a part of his “help Danny decompress” kit.
Osian’s idea. Several of their friends and family had them. It helped when going home wasn’t an option.
And Dannel refused to go home.
The heavy blanket and familiar strains of Hamilton helped ease some of his stress. It did nothing for his anxiety over Osian’s safety. It couldn’t.
Nothing but seeing Osian safe and alive could help.
Adjusting the volume of the music, Dannel tried to listen in on the police radio chatter. Roland had thoughtfully turned it down to avoid disturbing him. He couldn’t quite make out the words.
“They found Derrick’s car. No Osian or Ian.” Roland noticed him listening. He adjusted the volume on his radio. “You sure you don’t want to go home to wait?”
“Rolly.”
“Fine.” His brother lifted his hands up in surrender.
“Has anyone told Olivia or his mum and stepdad?” Dannel couldn’t imagine Osian’s family taking his disappearance well.
“Do you want to be the one to tell Olivia?”
“Aren’t you the big and brave police constable?” Dannel stared at his brother, who was shaking his head firmly. “Rolly.”
“Olivia is terrifying. Glittery sparkles and terrifying.” Roland held his phone out to Dannel. “You could call her.”
“Why don’t I text her?” Dannel used Roland’s phone to send the message. His brother could deal with the constant beeping of incoming texts sure to follow. “There. Enjoy the influx of responses.”
“Why did I hand you my phone?” Roland carefully placed it on the dashboard, and pointedly ignored the beep. “Rhetorical question. Don’t answer.”
While Roland dealt with the sudden influx of messages, Dannel leaned against the seat and tried not to think worst-case scenarios. Intense situations were always hard for him. He joked with his brother to deflect from his increasing anxiety.
I should’ve done more.
Done something.
We could’ve taken Derrick down. I might’ve at least tackled the bastard and got the gun off him.
What did I do? Sod all. I stared at Ossie’s back and said nothing.
“Danny.” Roland broke him out of his spiralling thoughts. “You did everything right.”
Dannel stared at his brother.
“I don’t need to be a mind reader to see what you’re thinking.”
“Neurotypicals and your abilities to understand facial expressions.” Dannel folded his arms and huffed in annoyance. “And I didn’t do anything.”
“You’re alive. Osian made a decision on the best way to keep you two from getting shot. And now we’ve got every chance of saving Ian as well.” Roland twisted around in the front seat to focus on him. “We’ll find them.”
Yes, but will we find them alive?
Dannel couldn’t voice the question in his head. It would make everything too real for him. “Take us to where they found Derrick’s car.”
“Danny.”
“Whatever they find, I want to be close by.” Dannel glared stone-facedly at his brother. He’d find a way to get there by himself if necessary. “Please? Sitting here’s going to drive me up the wall.”
“One of these days, you’re going to get me sacked.” Roland settled back into his seat and started the vehicle. “If you two insist on investigating crimes, I’m getting you into self-defence classes as well as scheduling for you two to get private investigator licenses.”
“Rolly.”
The rest of the drive went by in silence. Roland had apparently decided his point was made. He turned up his radio, listening in to the police chatter. Dannel tried not to hyper-focus on the tinny voices.
“I hate riding in the back seat.” Dannel sat forward, resting his arm against the front seat. “It’s disorienting.”
“Here. Make yourself useful. Answer the messages for me.” Roland offered his phone to Dannel when they stopped at a light. “Consider it a distraction.”
Driving in London always involved additional stress in Dannel’s opinion. He thought they might’ve made better progress going on public transport or riding a bike. Every second spent in bumper-to-bumper traffic did nothing for his growing anxiety.
Dannel tapped his foot against the floorboard while staring unseeing at a message on his brother’s phone. “Olivia wants to know what she can do.”
“Tell her we’ve got it under control.”
“Lie.”
“Sometimes lying is the kindest thing you can do.” Roland glanced sharply to the right when a cabbie cut them off. “Bastard.”
Instead of outright lying, Dannel went for a simple answer of “We don’t know yet.” He signed the message off and tossed the phone on the front passenger seat. They’d resort to calling eventually.
“Danny.”
“Don’t.” Dannel exhaled sharply.
Panic yelled louder in his head than his usual practicality. He didn’t have the emotional energy to respond to any more of the messages or answer his own buzzing phone. The drive was going on forever.
Dannel dug his fingers into the palms of his hands, trying to harness his growing panic. “How much longer?”
“We’re literally around the corner. I promise.” Roland paused briefly. “In fact, I see the detective inspector’s vehicle.”
His brother eased into a spot between two other patrol cars. Dannel wanted to bolt out of the vehicle, but he had no idea what direction to go. He spotted Haider in the distance, speaking to a uniformed officer.
“Do we wait?” Dannel asked.
“He’s seen us.” Roland held a hand to stop Dannel from hopping out of the car. “Patience.”
“See how patient you feel when it’s Wayne who’s missing,” Dannel muttered.
Haider jogged over to them. He bent down to Roland’s open window, peering into the back seat to see Dannel. “We’ve found them.”
“Alive?” Roland asked when Dannel found the word stuck in his throat. “Ian and Osian?”
“They’re down a well.”
Dannel blinked a few times. “Down a well?”